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Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Every July I have to tell new readers of the blog that I'm not around a lot in July. Summer doesn't last long here in New England and even thought it's my least favorite season, I appreciate the sunshine and all the yummy summer foods. I love working out in the garden and I love all the fresh seafood we get here in Rhode Island.

Shrimp is at the top of my list. We grill it a lot, but sometimes you need a fantastic recipe to get you through those long winter months when you can't go out and grill.

This is that recipe.

This is the only roasted shrimp recipe you will ever need.

I tinkered around in the kitchen and came up with this and it's just perfect. A hint of Parmesan, delicious olive oil and a dash of Italian seasoning! So good.

It got rave reviews from my gang.

Make sure to use RAW shrimp in this recipe. Cooked shrimp just won't cut it!

Oven Roasted Garlic Parmesan Shrimp
recipe from Lisa@The Cutting Edge of OrdinaryPRINTABLE RECIPE1 pound RAW large shrimp, peeled and deveined2 tablespoons olive oil4 cloves garlic, minced1/2 teaspoon dried Italian Seasoning1/4 cup freshly grated ParmesanKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to tastePreheat oven to 400. Line a sheet pan with parchment or lightly spray with cooking spray. Place all the ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold all the shrimp. Mix all the ingredients together and place shrimp in a bowl. Toss shrimp to coat. Place into oven and roast just until pink, firm and cooked through, about 6-8 minutes (don't overcook!)

Friday, June 23, 2017

Now that the warmer weather has hit I'm sure there will be a few parties and cookouts to attend. Most of my friends and family make it pot luck and we all bring a dish. I usually opt for dessert cause I love making desserts. I don't always love making complicated desserts though. Sometimes I'd like to keep it simple. Simple doesn't mean it can't be delicious.

We decided to have a few friends over for dinner. No big, just throw some corn and steaks on the grill, bake a few potatoes, easy peasy. I wanted dessert to the be same way so I made this little beauty.

I made an Angel Food Cake but you can buy one from your local grocery store as well. I think the local stores produce really small cakes compared to making it yourself, plus, you know what you put in yours when you make it yourself.

Bake the cake and let cool completely. Once the cake is cool, cut it in half horizontally. Remove the top portion and set aside. Using a sharp knife cut a little tunnel into the bottom layer of the cake. Use your fingers to pull some of the cake out. Don't cut too close to the edge.

Slice the strawberries into bite size pieces, add to a large bowl. Add in the blueberries and 2 tablespoons of confectioners sugar. Let the berries sit for 10 minutes.

Using a stand of hand mixer whip the heavy whipping cream on medium speed until it forms stiff peaks. Add in the vanilla. Whip for just 30 seconds more. Using a spatula, fill in the tunnel with the whipped cream and top with half the berries mixture. Place the top back on the cake and cover it with the remaining mixture. Place the remainder of the berries on top and chill until ready to eat!

Thursday, June 15, 2017

I've been at it again. Tinkering with vinegars and oils and all things delicious in the kitchen.

I eat a big salad every day for lunch. Yes, every day. I know to some folks that might seem boring, but I mix it up and make a really delicious salad filled with all different kinds of nuts and veggies and fruits and it always contains 1/2 an avocado cause I'm kind of a wee bit addicted to avocado. I admit it.

I don't usually buy store bought dressing because I love making my own. It's so easy to make your own dressing and it' not loaded with preservatives and a buncha of stuff you really don't want in your body in the first place, so why not make your own right? Right.

My trusty transcriber Evan (my son) will often sit at the kitchen table while I shout out what I'm adding and how much until I get the perfect balance of tartness. That's another great thing about making your own, you make it the way you like it.

Grab a mason jar, throw a bunch of ingredients in it and make your own!

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Contrary to what some people might think, I don't make sweets every week, sometimes not even one in a month.

If I go too long without making something sweet my kids will eventually start asking. "hey Mom are you going to make any cookies sometime soon" or I'll get Evan pointing something out in a magazine and saying "you could make that for me mama". Oh why thank you.

I'm happy to make sweets, but I admit it's hard to stay away from them when you have a sweet tooth like I do. So I don't make too many just for us, but I'm always happy to make them and take them (somewhere).

This chocolate cake was a "just because" cake. Sweet were requested and I didn't want to make a big mess in the kitchen so this One Bowl Chocolate Cake was on the menu.

I have to admit I didn't have any cake but I might have licked the spatula after I made the frosting. It smelled like chocolate fudgsicles.

Simple One Bowl Chocolate Cakerecipe from Lisa@The Cutting Edge of OrdinaryPRINTABLE RECIPE1 1/2 cups white sugar1 3/4 cups all purpose flour3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda3/4 teaspoon salt2 eggs1 cup milk1/2 cup vegetable oil2 teaspoons vanilla1 cup boiling waterFor the frosting: 3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temp)4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder2 1/2 cups powdered sugar1 tablespoon or more milkPreheat your oven to 350.In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined. Add the eggs, the milk, the vegetable oil and the vanilla, and whisk these ingredients into the dry ingredient until the mixture is smooth. Slowly add the boiling water, whisking constantly until the cake batter is runny and smooth.Pour the cake batter into a greased 9­x13­ inch rectangular pan and bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack while you make the frosting. For the frosting, whip the butter on high speed using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer until the butter ispale and smooth. Add the cocoa powder and the powdered sugar and continue to whip until smooth. If frosting is too stiff, a teaspoon or 2 of milk to loosen up the frosting until it reaches a consistency that is spreadable. Spread on cooled cake.

Friday, May 19, 2017

I don't know if everyone knows this about me but I'm a yard saler. You might call them tag sales, or garage sales, or even car boot sales as they call them in England. Once the nice weather hits here in New England my husband and I have our ritual. I go over the local paper Friday evening, writing down which ones we'll hit in order of time and distance. I grab my "yard sale" change purse, my cross body bag and off we go.

I love all things vintage. I'd much rather find that perfect piece of antique furniture and restore it myself before I'd buy something new.

We hit one particular yard sale and the first thing we noticed were the huge trees in the yard. I mean these suckers were massive. I snapped a pic with my cell phone.

We started talking to the elderly couple and the wife told me that she has lived on the land her whole life. She was raised in the farmhouse out back and bought the house they were in now for $1 from her grandparents. She told us she had the local college come to try and age the trees but the drill bit wasn't long enough. University of Rhode Island estimated that they were somewhere between 500 - 600 years old! Isn't that amazing?

We chatted away with them while I browsed around the garage and spotted a beautiful piece of pottery. I scooped it up the moment I saw it. Arthur Lavoie, the homeowner told me that he made it back in 1975. Sure enough when I flipped the pot over, there were his initials and '75 etched in the back. I asked if he was a potter and he said "no just a tinkerer" and I thought what a great thing to identify as. A tinkerer. I said "Arthur, I'll think of you every time I use it and Mrs. Lavoie said "oh how sweet". I love yard saleing, but I think I love the people and the stories I hear even more.

So I bought that beautiful pot from Arthur and I came home and I immediately roasted garlic in it cause roasted garlic don't need no reason.

There really is no recipe I roast garlic like this quite often. It's great in sauces, smeared on crusty bread, added to sandwiches, in masked potatoes, stirred into soups, in salad dressings. It's just good stuff. Roasting really mellows the flavor and gives it a real earthy, nutty taste.

Oven to 350. Place the garlic heads in a ceramic pan, or you can just place them in a pie dish that you cover in aluminum foil. Chop the tops of the garlic off and drizzle a bit of olive oil into the center so it falls down into the cloves. Top it with a cover or cover with aluminum foil. Bake 25 mins then uncover and roast for another 10 - 15 minutes or under the cloves get soft and mushy. Let cool enough to touch then squeeze those babies out into a jar and keep refrigerated until you are ready to use them.

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

I love almost all thing pickled! I'm not a fan of beets so I'd have to say those are out, but pretty much everything else that can be soaked in vinegar is a win for me.

We eat a lot of eggs in this house. I'm talking like 4 dozen a week. I hard boil them for the week and we eat them for breakfast AND I pickle them for snacks! A pickled egg is a wonderful little snack. They are also great chopped on a salad or added to a tuna sandwich.

I often add some onion to mine but I have picky eaters in my house who are not fans of onions so I left them out of this batch. If your craving pickled onions, I have a great recipe for Quick Pickled Shallots. They are also a great addition to a salad and oh so yummy! Click here!

You can certainly half this recipe if a few dozen eggs is too much for you. They do keep nicely in the fridge for about a month though.

Hard boil 24 eggs and place them in a large glass sterilized jar. Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over eggs. Allow jar to come to room temperature then refrigerate. Recipe can be halved.

Friday, April 28, 2017

I know the word custard just made a whole buncha people leave. I get it. Custard, Flan, Cream Brulee, it's not for everyone. It's a textural thing for lots of folks. I understand. I happen to love all things custardy.

I get in a breakfast rut. I eat a lot of eggs for breakfast, and try and stay away from carbs which is so hard cause almost all breakfast food is delicious carbs!! There are only a few kinds of breakfast cereal I'll eat because most are just a bowl full of sugar and GMO ingredients. When you think about it, not the best way to start the day off! So in my never ending quest to mix it up and not have the same 4 things for breakfast every morning I did a little online research and found this Nourishing Custard.

This is not a sweet custard that you'd have as a dessert, although if you wanted it to be all you would have to do is add more sweetener to it. I make up a batch of this on a Sunday so I'll have breakfast (and sometimes a snack) all week. For breakfast I'll mix in fresh fruits to really make it a meal, so a snack I'll add a little sweetener like a touch of maple syrup or a sprinkling of Truvia. It's enough to satisfy my sweet tooth and not send me into a sugar coma.

This has become a breakfast I look forward to! With all the fresh fruits that will be available soon I've already decided that I can cook some of them down and make a fruity syrup to mix into the custard. Possibilities endless! You could even call this pudding and I bet your little ones would love it!

This recipe makes a lot of custard, but you can easily half it. I like to make a big batch so I have it at the ready all week. Mix up your breakfast and try this silky custard!

If you want extra healthful and flavorful custard, steep milk with vanilla beans and cinnamon sticks. You can skip this step but it makes the custard pretty darn tasty. Whisk eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla if using in bowl, stir in milk. Pour into a glass baking dish or six custard cups. Sprinkle top with nutmeg or cinnamon if desired. Set the baking dish(es) in a pan of hot water. Containers nested in a rectangular glass baking dish for large single servings. Bake large dish at 325 degrees for 1 hour; bake cups at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Custard is done when a knife inserted off-center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold, add an extra drizzle of maple syrup if you want it sweeter.

You can also make this even more healthful by adding some pumpkin to make pumpkin custard. Essentially all you need to do is swap out half the milk for pureed pumpkin. What a wonderful way to get a serving of vegetables first thing in the morning.

Most of you who have read this blog for any amount of time know what an onion freak I am. Up until this point in my life caramelized oni...

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